Hamas says Gaza blockade must end before ceasefire
12 replies, posted
[img]http://news.bbcimg.co.uk/media/images/76478000/jpg/_76478305_023261603-1.jpg[/img]
[quote]
The leader of Islamic militant group Hamas has said there can be no ceasefire to ease the conflict in Gaza without an end to Israel's blockade.
Khaled Meshaal said Hamas would continue to reject a lasting ceasefire until its conditions were met.
It follows further Israeli air strikes and ground operations in Gaza, as Hamas continues to fire rockets into Israel.
Israel launched its military offensive on 8 July with the declared objective of stopping rocket fire from Gaza.
At least 649 Palestinians and 32 Israeli soldiers, plus three Israeli civilians, have been killed in the past 15 days of fighting, officials say
Earlier, the UN's top human rights official, Navi Pillay, condemned Israel's military actions in Gaza.
She also condemned Hamas for "indiscriminate attacks" on Israel.
There have been hundreds of rocket attacks on Israel and Israeli air strikes on Gaza since the Israeli offensive began.
The US Federal Aviation Authority has now lifted a ban on US airlines flying into Tel Aviv, which had come into force on Tuesday.
In addition to lifting the eight-year economic blockade, Mr Meshaal's list of demands also included the opening of the Rafah border crossing with Egypt and the release of Palestinian prisoners.
"We will not accept any initiative that does not lift the blockade on our people and that does not respect their sacrifices," Khaled Meshaal told reporters at a news conference in Qatar on Wednesday.
But, he added, the group would not "close the door" to a humanitarian truce, saying: "We need the calm for a few hours to evacuate the wounded and assist in [aid] relief."
Mr Meshaal appealed to the international community to help bring medicine, fuel and other supplies into Gaza.
Israel imposed restrictions on the Gaza Strip in 2006 after Hamas abducted Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit. The measures were tightened by Israel and Egypt in 2007 after Hamas ousted rival Fatah and forcibly took control in Gaza after winning elections the year before.
Hamas and Fatah announced a reconciliation deal in April, but the move was condemned by Israel which regards Hamas as a terrorist group.
Khaled Meshaal's comments come amid fierce fighting in Gaza on Wednesday, with eyewitness reports of around 5,000 Palestinians fleeing the village of Khuzaa, in the south, following a ground incursion by Israeli troops.
Palestinian medical sources say the death toll rose to more than 690 on Wednesday, which includes a Palestinian man shot dead by Israeli forces in pre-dawn clashes in the West Bank.
Israel said three of its soldiers were killed on Wednesday during efforts to destroy the network of Palestinian militant tunnels.
Israeli police say a foreign worker was killed when a rocket fired from Gaza landed near the southern Israeli city of Ashkelon on Wednesday.
Palestinian officials say eight militants were killed in clashes with Israeli troops on the outskirts of Khan Younis.
Separately on Wednesday, the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva voted in favour of an official investigation into alleged war crimes in Gaza.
The move was condemned by the media office of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, which described it as "travesty".
Israel's Justice Minister, Tzipi Livni, earlier said her country was acting according to international law.
UK Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond : "Today's UN Human Rights Council resolution will not help achieve a lasting ceasefire. It is fundamentally unbalanced and will complicate the process by introducing unnecessary new mechanisms."[/quote]
[url]http://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-28451691#FBM392388[/url]
Tl;dr: Its never going to end
I'm not going to take Hamas ceasefires seriously after they broke the last few.
edit: sry, dunno why i posted delboy in a hamas thread :(
It's bizarrely anticlimactic that the head of a terrorist organisation is just some well-kept bloke in a suit.
I think it's worth the risk for Israel to lax on the blockades but I'm not shouldering the lives of millions of people so I dunno :downs:
Some reading material on what both sides are aiming for here, from CNN:
[URL="http://edition.cnn.com/2014/07/23/world/meast/mideast-hamas-endgame/index.html"]What is Hamas' endgame in Gaza?[/URL]
[URL="http://edition.cnn.com/2014/07/23/world/meast/mideast-israel-endgame/index.html?iid=article_sidebar"]What is Israel's endgame in Gaza?[/URL]
And a [URL="http://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/politics/2014/07/how_to_save_gaza_demilitarization_and_abbas.html"]possible solution[/URL].
I'm not entirely sure something like this would work, as international forces were unable to keep southern Lebanon demilitarized following the terms of the 2006 cease-fire with Hezbollah.
HAMAS is really in no position to make demands.
[QUOTE]It's bizarrely anticlimactic that the head of a terrorist organisation is just some well-kept bloke in a suit.[/QUOTE]
[IMG]http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-YRe4M8niI5c/Uox07kU4paI/AAAAAAAAB5E/WDCEQt0oRMU/s1600/kassem+sulaimani.png[/IMG]
This is Qasem Soleimani, he's terrorist and a handsome devil. He's also got a Sean Connery thing going.
[QUOTE=Jamsponge;45483902]It's bizarrely anticlimactic that the head of a terrorist organisation is just some well-kept bloke in a suit.[/QUOTE]
Hamas leadership is [URL="http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4548202,00.html"]not exactly[/URL] in the trenches with the fighters.
But then again, politicians rarely are.
[QUOTE=Monkah;45482901]I'm not going to take Hamas ceasefires seriously after they broke the last few.[/QUOTE]
There never was a ceasefire to break, seeing as how Hamas didn't agree to any of them.
I think Hamas knows Israel won't agree to these terms either, just like they couldn't accept the previous terms put up by Egypt and Israel. They'll use this, just like Israel used their rejection, to point fingers at opposite side. Both governments (especially the Israeli) gain tremendous power from keeping this conflict going, and in the end, the losers will be the palestinian civilians.
[QUOTE=Marceline;45484528]HAMAS is really in no position to make demands.
[IMG]http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-YRe4M8niI5c/Uox07kU4paI/AAAAAAAAB5E/WDCEQt0oRMU/s1600/kassem+sulaimani.png[/IMG]
This is Qasem Soleimani, he's terrorist and a handsome devil. He's also got a Sean Connery thing going.[/QUOTE]
Does he prefer Dos Equis?
[QUOTE=OvB;45487573]Does he prefer Dos Equis?[/QUOTE]
Oh god, can't unsee
I don't always launch rockets, but when I do, I prefer Qassam.
[QUOTE]Does he prefer Dos Equis?[/QUOTE]
[IMG]http://gdb.rferl.org/1317E613-9F25-4A91-8122-78C3DAEE9764_w640_r1_s_cx0_cy14_cw0.jpg[/IMG]
Launch [B]ir[/B]responsibly, dooste man.
This just on; people's looks have nothing to do with what they do
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